lapidate

[lap-i-deyt]

verb (used with object), lap·i·dat·ed, lap·i·dat·ing.

to pelt with stones.
to stone to death.

Origin of lapidate

1615–25; < Latin lapidātus past participle of lapidāre to stone. See lapidary, -ate¹

Related formslap·i·da·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lapidation

Historical Examples of lapidation

"Lapidation" is good; it is much more elegant than "stoning."
A Tramp Abroad, Complete
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
By the way they passed a sward of green, on which sundry little boys were engaged upon the lapidation of a lame duck.
The Caxtons, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
By the way they passed a sward of green, on which sundry little boys were engaged upon the lapidation, or stoning, of a lame duck.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, No. 391, May, 1848
Various

British Dictionary definitions for lapidation

lapidate

verb (tr) literary

to pelt with stones
to kill by stoning

Derived Formslapidation, noun

Word Origin for lapidate

C17: from Latin lapidāre, from lapis stone

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lapidation

"stoning to death," 1610s, from Latin lapidationem (nominative lapidatio), noun of action from past participle stem of lapidare "to throw stones at," from the stem of lapis "stone."